After The BetrAyal
by MKAmericanhero
Summary: I thought the ending lacked something and even though I love Caleb, Emily almost fucking died AGAIN and her girlfriend also almost died AGAIN and no one seemed that upset by it. This is my way of working through it. Enjoy this one shot.
1. Chapter 1

**Ok so I get it, Caleb got shot and we should all feel sorry for Hanna, but did anyone else see the rest of the episode where Emily almost died for the 100****th**** time or the part where her fourth girlfriend was almost killed in front of her or the part where she had to kill someone in self-defense. Anyway, I hated that ending with a white hot passion and all the questions it left unanswered so I threw this together where everyone can feel sorry for Hanna, but then we can focus on Emily, the teenager that gets targeted way too much as a murder victim.**

When Emily finally let go of Hanna she was led away by the same officer who needed the rest of her statement, but this time Paige at least got to stand with her. They finished giving their statements and were both led over to a nearby waiting ambulance to be looked over. They were concerned with how many times Emily had hit her head during the struggle and the longer she sat on the gurney the more distant she seemed to be. Paige stood close by, but when she saw the far away look in her girlfriend's eyes she put hand on her shoulder.

"Em, you ok, you look kind of spaced out?" She got no response and instead Emily started shaking slightly. Paige yelled for the paramedic to come back and help her. He grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Emily, assuring Paige that she was going into shock and they needed to get her to the hospital. Paige demanded to ride with her and since she needed to be evaluated just as bad as Emily did the paramedic agreed and shut the doors behind them. Spencer saw the ambulance pull away and quickly grabbed Aria and Hanna and piled them into her car. She hit a few buttons on her phone and waited as the phone rang.

"Fields' residence."

"Mrs. Fields, its Spencer. You need to meet us at the hospital now."

"What, why, what happened? Is Emily alright?"

"Not really, but she's physically ok as far as we can tell, but it is way too complicated to explain over the phone. Please just trust me and meet us at the ER, the ambulance she and Paige are in should be there already."

"Ambulance?"

"She went into shock and she hit her head more than once. Just please meet us there and I will explain what happened."

"I'm on my way." The phone went dead and Spencer handed her phone to Aria. "Call your mom and Mrs. Marin and tell them what to meet us there ok. Tell Ashley that Caleb was hurt, but he should be okay after surgery." Hanna's head shot up, "you really think he'll be ok?"

"I can't say for sure Hanna, but it looked like he got as lucky as you can get when it comes to getting shot." Aria called both sets of their parents and got similar worried responses from both women who promised they were on their way. They pulled into the hospital and saw the ambulance with Emily and Paige had just pulled up, Caleb was already inside and the surgery was just beginning. The girls rushed inside in time to see them unload Emily who appeared to be sedated because she was completely unresponsive and Paige looked even more panicked than before. Paige walked beside the gurney, holding Emily's hand until she was forced to stop because only hospital personal could go beyond the double doors. She leaned her head against the wall and let out a frustrated sigh before breaking down into tears. Spencer grabbed a wheelchair and brought it over to the distraught girl.

"I know I said some awful things to you and did things you should never forgive me for, but let me help you. Please sit down and I'll get someone to check you out." Paige looked up and silently complied and before Spencer could turn to walk away Paige grabbed her wrist, "please don't leave." Spencer's heart sank, Paige really was lost without Emily. She wheeled her over to where the girls had settled into the waiting room chairs. They sat there in absolute silence for about two minutes and that terrifying peacefulness was only interrupted when Ella and Ashley showed up. Hanna's tears started up again when her mother sat down next to her and Aria just let her mother hug her without saying a single word. When they had both calmed their daughter down enough to speak they looked at Spencer and then to Paige who still had dirt and blood caked to her body and clothes.

Ashley bit the bullet, "Paige are you alright? Where is Emily? Is she alright?"

Spencer shook her head, "they just brought her in, she was alright for a while then she went into shock and now I don't know what is going on."

"They had to sedate her in the ambulance, she thought he was trying to stab her again and her BP was through the roof. She would've given herself a heart attack if they didn't knock her out." Paige explained in the most terrified, broken voice anyone had ever heard. Spencer stood up, "I'm going to go get a nurse to take you to get looked at."

"I'm fine."

Spencer knelt down so that Paige was forced to look at her, "no you aren't. You were kidnapped and you and Emily almost watched each other die. You need to get looked at so I'll be right back." Spencer left the group and before she could return Pam Fields came running through the ER waiting room looking frantic. Paige saw her first and with some effort she stood up. Pam saw Paige and the rest of the group and made her way over to them.

"What happened? Where's Emily? Are you alright?" She touched Paige's shoulder and after taking a deep breath Paige explained the simple version of what happened and when she was done Pam and all the other parents looked like they had been slapped. Paige kept going, "I thought someone was going to hurt her and I couldn't let someone hurt her again and I…I don't know what to do. He tried to…he had the knife at my throat and then he…I couldn't help her." Paige was fast losing her resolve and the gravity of what happened that night finally sunk in. She finally accepted the fact that she could have died and if Emily hadn't thought fast she probably would have. Pam chocked back a fresh batch of tears and brushed the tears away from Paige's eyes.

"You're both alive and that's all that matters. You did nothing wrong Paige." Paige couldn't hold it together anymore and completely fell apart. Pam wrapped her arms around the hysterical teenager and both of them cried until Spencer returned with a nurse ready to take Paige back to see a doctor. Pam helped her back into the wheelchair and the nurse disappeared with her behind the same double doors where Emily and Caleb were being treated. Pam sat down next to Spencer and was completely silent for a few minutes until a doctor came out and called Emily's name. Pam shot up and the doctor walked over to them and after introducing himself to Pam, he sat down with her and explained what they were doing with Emily.

"Physically she's doing remarkably well considering what she endured. She does have a concussion from when her assailant hit her against a hard service repeatedly, but the scan show no bleeding and only slightly swelling. She has only superficial cuts from the knife so she didn't need stitches. The sedative will wear off and then we can have her talk to our staff psychiatrist because I suspect the worst of her injuries are emotional and psychological ones. We'd like to keep her here so the concussion can be monitored, but in general I'd say your daughter is both very lucky and a fighter."

"When can I see her?"

"They are getting her set up in a room now; I'll have someone come get you when she has a room assigned. In the mean time here are her belongings and her clothes. We had to get in a gown for the scans but her clothes are in the bag." He handed Pam the plastic bag and Pam appeared to stop breathing for a moment. "Is that blood?"

The doctor sighed and nodded, "most of it isn't her's. Like I said she's a fighter, she wasn't going down without a fight and she won this one. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my other patients." The doctor disappeared and Pam sat down with the bloody clothes and threw them on the floor in frustration. She soon realized that the girls were watching her, "sorry girls, I'm just so sick of this happening to Emily." She tried to pull herself together and turned to Hanna, "how is Caleb?"

"No word yet, but we think he'll be alright." They all waited about an hour before a doctor came out to tell them that Caleb was going to be fine and that with some time and rest he would heal completely. Hanna breathed a sigh of relief and everyone smiled for the first time all night. A doctor came out to tell Pam and the other girls that Emily was settled in her room. Pam excused herself to try to get a hold of her husband before she went to Emily's room. The girls and their mother's found their way to the room the doctor had given them and they paused outside the door. The hospital had several rooms that had windows in them that allowed them to observe a patient without walking into the room. With her head injures they wanted to have Emily in one of those rooms. From the window that looked into Emily's room they could all see Paige sitting on a chair next to a sleeping Emily. Paige was in a hospital gown as well and had an IV standing next to her. Emily started moving around and the girls could see her crying from the window. Paige got up from her seat and moved so that she was pressed against Emily in the small hospital bed. She was mindful of her IV, but ultimately she didn't care because the closeness calmed Emily down. The girls watched and they felt even worse for thinking that Paige would ever hurt Emily again. Emily rested her head against Paige's shoulder and seemed to fall back asleep. They had to wake her up every hour, but she could sleep a while longer before they had to officially wake her up again. The girls all quietly went into the room and sat down at the foot of the bed, carefully not to disturb Emily.

Ella and Ashley stayed outside waiting for Pam to return from her phone call. Ashley crossed her arms and shook her head, "I don't know how she does it. I mean this is what the 8th time Emily has almost been killed somehow and this is the third girlfriend that has been attacked. Guess we should be thankfully that Paige didn't end up the same way Ali and Maya did. But I mean seriously how much can one teenager take?"

Ella looked confused, "wait, what you mean Maya and Ali? Emily dated Ali?"

Ashley smiled slightly, "you learn a lot of things when a teenager lives in your house. She opened up while she was staying with us. They didn't date per say, but they had an intense relationship, they kissed a few times. My point is that most of the girls that Emily has had feelings for have been killed and tonight one more was almost added to that list and I can guarantee you she would not have survived another funeral for anyone else she loved like that."

"She has had more than her share of tragedy. Not really fair when you think about how sweet she is, what the hell did she ever do to anybody to deserve this?" Ella shook her head because she really couldn't wrap her head around it. "You think she'll be ok after this, I mean not many 17 year olds have to kill someone in self defense?"

Ashley paused and looked at the girls in the hospital room, "It is going to be a hard road, but look at what she has in there." Ashley pointed at the girls and at Paige, "she has her best friends and clearly a partner that loves her enough to risk her life to protect her. I'm cautiously optimistic, but if anyone can do it it's Emily." Pam came down the hall and met the other women outside her daughter's room. "Did you get a hold of Wayne?"

"Took some doing, but yes, he's beside himself upset and he is trying to come home to see her, but I told him that for now everything is under control. I just hope I didn't lie to my husband." Pam looked through the window and gritted her teeth, "if he wasn't already dead I would have killed the bastard myself." Pam could see Emily get upset again, she assumed because of a bad dream, but before she reached for the door handle Paige wrapped her arms around Emily and kissed her forehead and reached for her IPod. She hit play and softly started singing a song just loud enough for Emily and the others to hear. They could hear some of it in the hallway and Pam just listened.

**This is my love song to you  
Let every woman know I'm yours  
So you can fall asleep each night, babe  
And know I'm dreaming of you more**

You're always hoping that we make it  
You always want to keep my gaze  
Well you're the only one I see  
And that's the one thing that won't change

I'll never stop trying  
I'll never stop watching as you leave  
I'll never stop losing my breath  
Every time I see you looking back at me  
I'll never stop holding your hand  
I'll never stop opening your door  
I'll never stop choosing you babe  
I'll never get used to you

And with this love song to you  
It's not a momentary phase  
You are my life, I don't deserve you  
But you love me just the same  
And as the mirror says we're older  
I will not look the other way  
You are my life, my love, my only  
And that's the one thing that won't change

I'll never stop trying  
I'll never stop watching as you leave  
I'll never stop losing my breath  
Every time I see you looking back at me  
I'll never stop holding your hand  
I'll never stop opening your door  
I'll never stop choosing you babe  
I'll never get used to you

Still get my heart racing (you)  
Still get my heart racing (for you)  
Still get my heart racing (you)  
Still get my heart racing (for you)

I'll never stop trying  
I'll never stop watching as you leave  
I'll never stop losing my breath  
Every time I see you looking back at me  
I'll never stop holding your hand  
I'll never stop opening your door  
I'll never stop choosing you babe  
I'll never get used to you

Still get my heart racing (you)  
Still get my heart racing (for you)  
Still get my heart racing (you)  
Still get my heart racing (for you)

Still get my heart racing (you)  
Still get my heart racing (for you)  
Still get my heart racing (you)  
Still get my heart racing (for you)

Pam was stunned; she knew that Paige loved Emily, that was clear, but she was looking at a relationship as meaningful as her marriage and it surprised her. Without any really explanation she launched into a story and Ella and Ashley listened intently.

"When Wayne and I first got married we always dreamed of having kids. He always said that he wanted a boy, but I knew that he would have given anything to have a girl. They told us that we probably couldn't have kids and we were just destroyed. Wayne threw himself into work, but I knew how hurt he was. Then about three years after we stopped trying Wayne was on a short deployment, he was gone for about three months and was getting ready to come home. I had been feeling awful for weeks and thought it was the stress of him being gone. He finally convinced me to go see our doctor and I was expecting her to tell me that I had the flu or to relax. Instead she came back into the room and asked me if I had ever taken birth control. I said I didn't need it, that I was told I couldn't have children. She smiled at me and said that I should call whatever doctor told me that and tell him that he owed me college tuition for the child he told me I could never have. She handed me my test results and explained that I was about 12 weeks pregnant and that as far as she could tell everything was fine."

"When Wayne got home I picked him up at the base hanger with all the other families. When he finally found me he spun me around and kissed me and I told him I had a present for him and I handed him a small bag. He opened it and it was a onesie that said, if you think I'm cute you should see my daddy. I thought his face would crack he was smiling so big and he asked me if I was sure and when I said yes he dropped to his knees and kissed my stomach and started talking to Emily. She was daddy's little girl before she was even born. As she grew up he always talked about how one day some boy would sweep in and steal her away from him. He spent so much time worried about being replaced as the one and only man in her life that it never occurred to me to worry about a woman doing the same thing to me. And now here we are and another woman is holding my child, trying to make her feel safe and loved and I am surprisingly ok with it."

"She isn't replacing you Pam, she's just growing up."

"I know and I have the sinking suspicion that Paige is the last girlfriend Emily will ever have." Pam smiled to herself and Ella was confused.

"You don't think she'll have any other girlfriends?"

"Nope."

"How can you be so sure?" Ashley jumped in.

"Because this kind of thing can break a couple or show them how strong their love is. From where I'm standing they look more in love than ever before, so no I don't think Emmy will have another girlfriend because I'm pretty sure I'm looking at her cuddling with the woman I'm going to call my daughter-in-law one day. And there is only one thing I hate about that."

"What's that?" Ella asked hesitantly. Pam pushed the door open slightly and smiled back at the women, "it means that I will have to share grandchildren with Nick McCullers."

**There you go folks, my interpretation of how that episode needed to be ended because I felt all the feeling last night and that ending did nothing to make me feel better. Anyway, now we wait for Halloween. **


	2. Don't Disappear

**Ok so I had more than a few people ask for me to continue this and even though I'm super busy with my Masters program right now and my other stories I think I'm going to cave under the peer pressure and continue it for a bit. Also someone corrected my story of Emily being an only child and my understanding is that she had siblings in the book series but not the show. I could be wrong I have only made it through about 8 of the books, but either way it's just part of this story so if that makes it slightly AU-ish then so be it.**

Later that night Paige was still with Emily and Pam was pacing outside trying to make phone calls and field media outlets who were by now breathing down her neck. While she did that Ella stayed outside Emily's room and Ashley stayed in Caleb's where Hanna had settled. Spencer and Aria had stayed permanently planted at the foot of Emily's bed and both girls were still half asleep leaning against each other for the sake of comfort. The hospital chatter and noise was cut through by the distinct sound of heels hitting the tiles. Ella looked up to see Veronica Hastings looking far too put together for 11 o'clock at night walking toward her.

"How are they doing?" Veronica stood next to Ella and looked into the room.

"If you ask me, Emily is getting far too used to being almost killed. Otherwise, they'll both be physically fine in a few days."

"I hate that Emily had to go through this, but what she did freed an innocent man." Ella rolled her eyes and turned to Veronica. "Ok let's get one thing perfectly clear, when you go in there to get Spencer do me the solid favor of not saying what you just said to me to Emily because she had to kill a man Veronica. Did you hear me, she had to kill him because he held a knife to her throat and to Paige's throat. He was trying to stab her and she had to stab him just to survive. She didn't do what she did for fucking Garrett Reynolds who by the way is anything but innocent. He might not have killed Maya, but he sure as hell made our daughters lives difficult. My advice to you is go in there, offer your support to a teenager who has been through too much hell and trauma for a million lifetimes and then grab your child and go home, but if you breathe one word about Garrett I'll make sure Pam hears about it and she's already out for blood."

Veronica nodded and silently walked inside the room. Emily shifted in the bed which caused Paige to open her eyes and see Spencer's mom standing there looking at them.

"I thought that Spencer might want to come home." For the first time in her life Veronica wasn't sure what to do or say so she just stood there looking at the floor. Paige was about to saw something, but Emily beat her too it. "Uncertainty doesn't look good on you Mrs. Hastings." The girl opened her eyes and looked at Spencer's mother and Veronica forced a smile. "How are you feeling Emily?"

"Better, I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to feel."

"Emily I'm.."

"If sorry is the next word out of your mouth save it. I'm tired of people telling me that they are sorry."

"I understand. Would it be alright if I took Spencer home?"

"You'll have to wake her up first." Emily cracked a small smile before leaning back against the pillow. Veronica touched Spencer's shoulder and the teenager flinched forward, in the process waking Aria up as well. "Spencer relax it's just me."

"What time is it?"

"After 11; come on I'll take you home." Spencer stood up and looked over at Emily and Paige. "Will you be ok here with her?"

Paige nodded her head, "I'm not going anywhere. She should be released tomorrow night or the next morning."

"I'll be back tomorrow to check on her." Spencer grabbed her bag and walked over to the bed and kissed Emily's forehead before turning away. She stopped before she walked out the door and turned to Paige, "Paige. I know it may not mean much to you and it doesn't fix anything, but thank you for staying with her, makes me feel better knowing she isn't alone tonight."

"You're welcome." Paige offered a small smile as Spencer left the room with Veronica trailing behind her. When they got outside the door Pam was just returning, cell phone still attached to her ear and she was fuming mad. "No, listen to me very very carefully, if I see news vans, reporters, somebody with a camera phone anywhere near my daughter or her girlfriend I will break the camera and whoever is holding it into pieces. If you should feel the need to call me again, stop yourself and call my attorney instead." Pam hung up and looked up to see Veronica, Ella and Spencer all looking at her.

"Reporters are vultures. Veronica I didn't expect to see you here, thought you'd be dealing with your client." The bite in her voice was still there and no one could really blame her, Pam had every right to be angry. "I wanted to see how Caleb's surgery went and to see how Emily was and I thought Spencer might want to come home. And Pam you know as well as I do that I don't get to pick my clients."

"No, but you could have refused him when he asked for you. I know he didn't kill Maya, but that punkass son of a bitch has been haunting our daughters for months and you defended him. You know what I don't have time to care about this right now. I need to go check on my daughter and make sure Paige calls her parents. Spencer, when you come back tomorrow could you grab a few things for Emily from the house?"

"Of course just let me know what she needs and I'll grab it." Spencer gave Pam a hug before following her mother down the long hallway to the elevators. Pam let go of the breath she had been holding and turned back to Ella. "You can take Aria home if you want, it's getting late, I'm sure you are both tired."

"Are you going to be ok here by yourself?"

"Paige doesn't appear to be going anywhere so we can keep each other company." Pam walked into the room with Ella behind her. Pam touched Paige's shoulder and the teenager sat up to look at her.

"You should call your parents Paige, I'm sure they are worried sick and they deserve to know what happened." The color drained from Paige's face, "I don't want to talk about it anymore right now."

"Honey, I know it's scary, but you need to tell them what happened so they can be there for you, get you some help."

"I don't need any help, I have Emmy."

Pam was a little shocked; no one other than her dad was allowed to call Emily Emmy. "Honey, you both almost died, you say a crazy person hold a knife to her throat and then to your own. It would be a good idea to see a therapist or even just talk to you folks. Keeping that pent up won't help you at all. Now come on, we'll go call them together and see about getting that IV out." Pam held out her hand and Paige wanted to take it but she kept looking between Pam and Emily, like she had to make a choice. Ella jumped in, "We'll stay here until you get back Paige. Emily won't be alone I promise." Paige nodded and stood up from the bed. She leaned over and kissed Emily softly, careful not to wake her up. She followed Pam out of the room and before the door closed Ashley walked in and took a seat next to Ella and Aria.

"How's Caleb?"

"Much better. They'll keep him a few days to watch for infection, but he can go home next week. Hanna is going to stay with him tonight, so I thought I'd come check on Emily. Where's Paige and Pam?"

"Calling Paige's parents."

Ashley scoffed and laughed slightly, "Bet Pam is really looking to dealing with Nick on top of all of this."

"You think she still has issues with him?"

"If someone showed up at my kid's high school and in front of her said terrible things about her merits as a student athlete based only on her sexual orientation I'd have skinned him alive, so yeah I think that she might still be a little pissed. But they'll have to play nice in light of what happened."

"Is Paige even out to her parents?"

"She told them a few months ago." Aria threw in her two cents. "She said if she ever stood a chance with Em, she couldn't treat her like a dirty secret again. She did it for her." Emily seemed to tense in the bed and it looked like she was having a bad dream. Ashley stood up and went over to the side of the bed and gently tried o take her up.

"Emily, Em, come on sweetie you need to wake up for me. You're safe, no one is hurting you honey." Emily sat up right in the bed and was breathing heavy and when she realized where she ways she held her head in her hands and let out a frustrated sigh. "I hate this, I hate this so god damn much. I'm so tired of being afraid." Ashley let Emily wrap her arms around her and she stayed there, letting her be upset and when she seemed to calm down she pulled away Emily looked around and realized who was missing.

"Where's Paige? Is she ok? I have to make sure she didn't do anything again." Emily moved to get out the bed and Ashley pushed her back and forced her to lie back down. "She is with your mom calling her parents. She's fine I promise you."

Emily looked unsure and Ashley felt terrible for not being able to make her feel better. "Emily, have I ever lied to you?"

"Not that I am aware of no."

"So trust me now, Paige is fine and is safe with your mom. She'll be right back ok."

Aria stood up, "Em I can go find her if you need her." Emily waved Aria over to her and had the girl lean in while she whispered something to her. Aria straightened up and after looking slightly confused she nodded, "ok Em, I'll be right back ok." Aria was about to open the door when her mother stopped her and whispered in her ear. "What did she say to you?"

"She said to find Paige and bring her back because she needed to make sure she wasn't sad and to make sure she didn't want to disappear again. I don't know what that means, but I assume it's the meds so I'm just gonna go find Paige and I'll be right back." Aria left the room and Ella went over to the chair next to Emily's bed. She and Ashley looked at the teenager and figured that she had fallen back asleep.

"What did she mean by make sure she doesn't want to disappear again?" Ella was confused and Ashley didn't have a good explanation either, "I don't know, maybe that's something to ask her when she is lucid." Aria returned and Paige was walking behind her, no longer with an IV and was wearing hospital scrubs because her clothes were still covered in blood and dirt. Pam told them that the McCullers were on their way and would be there in about 20 minutes. She left the room to grab her bag from the car and when the door shut Paige moved to sit back down next to Emily, but Ella called her over. Paige crossed to the other side of the room and sat down between the two mothers and Aria sat down next to her mom.

"When Aria left to go find you Emily said to make sure you didn't want to disappear again. Any idea why she would be worried about that?" Paige winced and looked back at Ella and sighed, "do you really want to know, cuz it's not a pretty story?" All three women nodded.

"Ok, but." Paige looked directly at Aria. "You can't breathe a word of this to Spencer or to Hanna, ok, it's mine to tell them and I get you are best friends, but I need you to pretend for ten minutes that you are my friend as well and keep this a secret." Aria nodded, "you have my word, I won't tell the others."

"When Spencer was sure that I was going to hurt Emily she heard that I had a past with Alison, and it was not a pleasant past either. She told Emily and when Emily asked me I denied ever knowing Alison. That was a lie. Later that night I went over to Emily's house and I explained to her that I did in fact know Alison and that we had a volatile relationship. Calling her a bully is being far too kind, she absolutely was hell bent on destroying me. I know she put you guys through the ringer too, but you had each other to support you and get you through it. I had no one because of how I acted in sports and at school. I was handling Ali and everything she threw at me alone, I had no one. She found out I liked girls, found out I liked Emily and that was the last straw, she became relentless and threatened to out me and I couldn't handle it anymore. Soon after that it didn't matter what Alison was doing to me, because I was willing to do so much worse to myself. But I didn't disappear because I didn't want her to win. I switched schools for a while and when my dad got a job back in Rosewood we came back, but by then Alison was dead and buried. Alison made me want to disappear and Emily just wanted to make sure that what happened tonight didn't make me think about it again." When Paige finished talking Aria's already large eyes were in a permanent state of shock and Ella and Ashley both seemed to be stunned silent.

Ella was the first one to break the quiet, "so when she was worried about you disappearing she was scared that you were thinking about suicide again."

"With all due respect Ms. Montgomery, I did a lot more than think about it." Paige turned her arms over so that the underside of her forearm was exposed and even though the scars were faded, they were there on her wrists and forearm and they were plainly visible. "Before you freak out too much, my parents know and they got me help and all that so you don't have to worry about telling them." Before the rest of them could process what they had just been told Emily started to stir and was calling out for Paige. Paige stood up and before she took a step Aria stood in front of her, preventing her from moving.

"Listen to me carefully, because I will only say this once to you. I'm sorry for what Ali did to you, I'm sorry for what we accused you of and I'm sorry you suffered like that alone and thought that death was the answer. But she can't handle another funeral for someone she loves, ok, she won't survive another dead girlfriend. So please, if you ever, EVER feel like you want to do something like that again, tell one of us, tell our parents if you don't want to tell your own, hell tell Pam for all I care, but please please do not make me hold her in my arms again when her heart is breaking."

Paige was a little shocked but she nodded her head, "I would never, ever leave her, no matter what happened. I'd rather cut my heart out then ever cause her any more pain. You have my word, she's safe with me."

"Good, now second thing. Come here." Aria surprised Paige by opening her arms and hugging the swimmer. Paige let her and when they broke apart Paige went over and rejoined Emily leaving Aria to sit back down with her mother and Ashley. Aria turned to her mother, "I think I'd like to go home now, I'm beat and that just made me feel really guilty."

"We should leave anyway, it's late." Ella stood up and grabbed her purse, after Aria said good bye to Emily, Ella leaned over and kissed her forehead. Emily caught her hand before she walked away, "she didn't disappear." Emily sounded like a kid that just got their Christmas wish and Ella smiled, "no honey, she didn't, I don't think she's going anywhere for a long time."

**So yeah, I'm not sure how long I'm going to make this, but here is an update so hope you all liked it. I threw in the conversation on the porch because they once again explained nothing about what Paige revealed to Emily so I threw it in here.**


	3. Meet The Parents

**Sorry for the delay folks, grad school is super busy and I actually had to have a root canal today so life is busy, but I wanted to update this. Enjoy.**

Ella had taken Aria home and Hanna was fast asleep in Caleb's room. Pam was sitting at the foot of Emily's bed half asleep, while Paige and Emily were passed out in the bed that had originally been set up for Emily. Around 2am a nurse came in and tapped Pam on the shoulder and gestured to the window. Pam looked up to see Nick and a woman she assumed to be his wife and Paige's mother standing next to him. Pam looked to see that both girls were still sleeping so she slipped out of the room and shut the door behind her. Now that she was awake Pam could see that Nick looked tired and had a worried expression on his face.

"Hello Pam."

"Nick. I'm so sorry to call you both so late, but I figured you'd want to know what happened."

"What did happen? I mean you explained a little bit on the phone, but it looks like there is more to the story or your daughter wouldn't be hooked up to an IV." Pam explained everything that had happened, at least as she understood them to have happened. When she was finished Nick looked at his wife and then leaned on the window sill that allowed visual access into Emily's room. His turned fast to his wife, "I told you didn't I, I said that this whole her being gay thing was going to get her hurt."

"Nick, her being gay didn't cause this." Paige's mother tried to keep her husband from saying something he would regret.

"Really, then tell me what did? If she wasn't dating Emily, if she wasn't gay then this whole thing wouldn't have happened." Pam was gearing up for another fight with Nick, but she got beat to it by Paige's mother.

"Nick, damn it. I told you if you were going to act like a child I was going to leave you and your self righteous hatred in the car. Pointing the finger will not help them heal from this. Something bad happened, yes, but you forget it happened to both of them. We are not the only ones that could have lost their child tonight so if it isn't too much to ask, show a little respect for the mother of the young woman who had to kill a man to save her own life, not mention our daughter's life. The same young woman, I might add, that you have already attacked because you have imagined her to be this all powerful lesbian that is out to steal something from you." Nick flinched when his wife said lesbian and both women saw it.

"I thought you had worked through whatever issues you had with this already. It's just a word Nick; LESBIAN. You might as well get used to it because our daughter is one. You are the only one putting the spotlight on it. It is a part of who she is, but it is hardly the most interesting part of who she is, so let it go."

"She could have died tonight, doesn't that make you angry."

"No, it terrifies me."

"How is that any different?"

"The difference is, I'm scared because we could have lost her tonight, you're mad and because of it you will attack anything around you and that isn't ok."

"What would you like me to do Amelia? Huh, tell me, should I sit here and be grateful that my daughter is dating someone who almost got her killed."

"Nick." Paige's mother's tone changed as she spat her husband's name through her teeth. "Turn around." Nick turned toward the window and his wife stood next him. "Look at them." He looked up at his daughter still fast asleep next to Emily, her arms wrapped round her girlfriend's waist. "They love each other, they fought for each other, Emily risked her own life to protect Paige's and had to pay dearly for it. If you can look at that and honestly tell me that you think that Emily doesn't love our daughter then we need to talk to a divorce lawyer."

"Great so they love each other. You and I both know that love will not protect them from the world. What happened tonight proves that."

"You're right, love will not keep them safe, but it will bind them together so that they will fight through every hardship they face together. I can't change what you think about gay people, but I would like to think that for one brief, shining moment, that you could set aside your beliefs and understand that your daughter found someone who loves her for everything she is and everything she isn't."

"I can't lose her again." Amelia's face softened. "This is nothing like that last time we were in this hospital Nick and you know that. This is about you and Paige. You have a chance to fix what you broke, but know that if you can't, you are going to lose her. Not to death, but she will walk right out of our lives and she will not come back."

"I'm going for a walk." Nick turned around and left his wife standing alone next to Pam.

"I can't apologize enough for my husband's deplorable behavior. The last thing you need is him yelling and screaming about his own insecurities when all this is happening to the girls. How is Emily?"

"Better, they just wanted to watch her tonight for any signs of the brain swelling causing any big damage. Otherwise, the cuts are superficial and will heal in time and they'll release her once she speaks to the staff psychologist in the morning."

"And Paige?"

"They gave her some fluids to rehydrate her, but otherwise, they say she's fine: physically anyway. You can go inside if you want."

"I don't want to wake them up. Besides, she'll ask where her dad is and I'd like to be able to point to him instead of telling her that he's acting like a jack ass. I am really sorry about what he said, you have enough to worry over, he just made things worse for you and I'm sorry for that."

"Nick and I have never really been on friendly terms, but I used to be just as angry as he was, for the same reason. I was convinced that Emily's girlfriend had made her gay, that this 17 year old kid had somehow changed my precious baby into a lesbian. I was afraid that someone would hurt her, but I didn't know that I was becoming one of those people hurting her. Oddly enough it took your husband to show me that I was driving her away. After blowing up at him, Emily and I rebuilt our relationship that I had worked so hard to destroy."

"I should probably apologize for that too, he had no right to come to school and attack Emily like that. It's not an excuse, but most of his behavior is because of how he was raised. His dad was a very ignorant, hateful man. Paige coming out has forced him to confront how he was raised and change it for his child. Before just now I would have said he was doing well."

A silence fell over the women as they watched their daughter sleep. Pam cleared her throat and decided to ask the question that she had been holding onto. "Would it be rude of me to ask you a question?"

"Of course not."

"Nick said that he couldn't lose Paige again. What did he mean by that?"

"I'm surprised Emily didn't tell you."

"Emily would never tell me anything personal about Paige."

Amelia smiled and sighed heavily, "To be honest, I don't even know what led it all to happen, she never would tell us that part. What my husband meant was that this is not the first time we've been the emergency room of this hospital with Paige, only last time her being ok wasn't such a sure thing. He thought she was going to die, hell I thought she was going to die and ever since then he's hated this hospital and he's been pushing her to perform at her highest level with swimming. Guess he thinks if she's successful in sports, she'll be happy, she'll have something to live for." Amelia got quiet and Pam could see her trying to hide tears.

"You don't have to tell me the rest."

"No, it's fine. Paige was having a hard time at school; that much I knew, but she never told me more than that. Anyway, she had been really quiet for several days and I couldn't get her to say anything to me and Nick was, well he tried to pretend nothing was wrong. One night Nick was working late on some new ad and so he was still at the office with his exec. team. I was home with Paige and after she had eaten she silently went upstairs and I tried to get her to stay with me downstairs, but she said she was tired. I probably won't ever forgive myself for not following her upstairs, but I didn't. I did the dishes and cleaned up downstairs. About an hour later Nick called, said he was on his way home so I turned on the porch light and headed upstairs to get ready for bed. I knocked on her door to say goodnight, but I got no response. I tried to open the door, but it was locked and she never locked her door, ever. All of a sudden that terrible feeling was back in the pit of my stomach and I started banging on the door, calling her name…still nothing. I knew something was up so I grabbed one of Nick golf clubs and started beating the hell out of the door until I broke a large enough hole to reach through and unlock the door. Everything after that was a pretty big blur. I could see her laid out on her bathroom floor and once I saw the blood I screamed so loud the neighbors called 911. Nick got home ten minutes later and found me there trying to slow the bleeding. That's why he said what he said; the ER doctor here said another ten minutes she would have been gone."

Pam was not expecting that, nor did she have any idea what to do with it. She didn't want to say I'm sorry, because that seemed trite. Amelia turned around to look at Pam. "I didn't tell you to get sympathy or to excuse my husband's behavior. She's dating your daughter; I just thought you should know some of her past. I know she told Emily and I figured you had the right to know since she spends so much time in your home."

"I'm glad she's alright. When Emily started dating her again, it was the first time I had seen her smile since Maya died. She got Emily to understand that you can miss people and love them, but move on and she somehow managed to help Emily to just that. What you just told me, doesn't change anything, it doesn't make me think less of her or think she's unstable. We have all fought our demons, she is no different."

Amelia forced a smile, "Thank you, I should go check on Paige and at least let her know that I'm here. My husband can join us if he can manage to act like a parent or an adult." Both women walked in quietly and watched as Emily shifted in her sleep again. Sometimes it was clear that she was having a nightmare, other times Pam couldn't tell. Paige always seemed to know, even when she herself was asleep. She tightened her hold around Emily's waist and mumbled something into Emily's ear which seemed to calm her down. Amelia walked over to the side of the bed where her daughter was and she placed her hand on Paige's shoulder. She wasn't expecting her daughter to flinch, but when she did, she felt terrible for not knowing better. Paige woke up and when she saw her mother she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry honey, I didn't think about not touching your shoulder. How are you feeling?"

"Better, just tired I guess." Paige looked around and saw Pam, but not her dad. "Where's dad?"

"He went for a walk." Paige saw her mother's face and looked over to Pam. "He was rude to you again wasn't he?"

"Paige, I can handle your dad. You just focus on recovering and being there for Emily." Her mom tried to make is seem like her husband wasn't acting like a petulant child, but Paige knew her dad a little too well. "I'm really sorry Mrs. Fields."

"Don't apologize to me honey, you did nothing wrong." Amelia patted her daughter's knee, "come on honey, let me take you home."

"I'm not leaving her. You've seen how she gets when she has a nightmare."

"Honey, her mom will be here, she'll be alright. You need to come home."

"I need to stay with her, dad doesn't want me at home anyway."

"Honey, he loves you, you know that."

"I'm not leaving her mom, she goes home tomorrow, I will too." Amelia looked at Pam, "I'll be here tonight, they won't be alone. I can drop her off at home tomorrow when I bring Emily home." Amelia looked back to her daughter. "Ok, I'll bring you some clothes from home so you can be comfortable." Amelia leaned over and kissed Paige on her head before following Pam outside the room. I'll bring some clothes for her tonight and I'll come by later in the morning so that you don't have to babysit her."

"Please don't worry; it's actually kind of lovely to have someone here with me. Wayne can't get home right now and I'm not sure how I'd be able to handle this alone. Besides, she loves Emily just as much as I do, just in a different way."

"Well, I'm going to go find my husband and I'll be back in about half an hour." Amelia walked away and Pam returned to her make shift bed inside Emily's room. Paige stood up and pulled a chair next to Pam's. "I'm sorry for whatever my father said to you."

"Your dad and I have never been on pleasant terms honey, but none of that is your fault. Besides your mom let him have it better than I ever could."

"If he said something bad about Emmy, I am even more sorry."

"Like I said, your mom stood up for you and for Emily. Besides I think some of your dad's comments were coming from him being upset about being in this hospital again." Paige unconsciously started rubbing her wrists as she looked away from Pam. "He told you about that?"

"Your mom did." Pam put her hands over Paige's, "I'm glad you're alright Paige. I don't know what drove you to that point, but I'm really glad that you survived because maybe you don't see it, but without you I don't think that Emily would have made it through losing Maya. Your mom saved you, but you saved her and I love you for that." Paige smiled and let Pam give her a hug before she stood back up and returned to the bed with Emily.

**Hope this update is up to snuff for you all, please let me know if there is something you want to see or explained and I will try to work it in the next installment. Please be patient with me because classes are insane, but I am on top of it I promise.**


	4. Thin Ice

**Sorry for the wait you guys, but I wanted to get this chapter up before I became swamped sending out applications for my clinical practicum sites. Grad school is becoming very real, very fast. Anyway, here you go.**

The next morning Pam was busy trying to sign Emily out of the hospital and communicate with her husband about what was happening. Emily was still fast asleep and Paige was completely passed out sitting in one of those chair-bed things they have in hospitals. With Pam outside of the room, Ashley Marin had offered to sort of keep and eye on them since she was there to check on Hanna and Caleb. She sipped her coffee as she looked through the window of Emily's room, watching the two girls sleep. Her concentration was broken when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Paige could always sleep anywhere, no matter how uncomfortable it might be to other people. Cars, airplanes and apparently even chairs." Ashley turned around to see Nick standing a few feet behind her with his hands in his pockets, looking tired and little worse for the wear.

"I imagine she would have slept on the floor to be close to Emily." Ashley played with the cup in her hand before just asking flat out. "What are you doing back here Nick? Pam made it seem like I shouldn't expect to see you back here."

"I handled things poorly yesterday."

"I'll say." Nick looked at Ashley like he wanted to defend himself and the red head shook her head. "Don't look at me like that Nick, I'm not going to sugar coat this for you, you fucked up bad and in the process you hurt my kid's best friend. I didn't give birth to her, but I love her like I love my own daughter so if you are going to pull a stunt like that again, you and I are going to have a very real problem."

"I would never hurt Emily."

"See what I think you mean to say is that you would never hurt her **again**. I'm not going to simply forget the stunt you pulled at school last year."

"Like I said I've made some mistakes, but I would like the chance to make them right." Ashley took a step toward him. "I'm going to let you in that room only because Paige is your child, but in the absence of Pam I'm in charge of Emily so if I don't like what I see I won't think twice about hauling your ass out of that room and kicking it all over this hospital. We clear?"

Nick swallowed hard and nodded his head, "Crystal." Ashley stepped out of the way and let Nick enter the room. The sound of the door opening made Emily shift in her sleep and that caused Paige to stir as well. She reached over and made contact with Emily's hand and laced their fingers together before settling back into her pillow. Nick stood at the foot of Emily's bed and watched his daughter and her girlfriend sleeping. Her girlfriend…the word and very idea still confused Nick. He never thought Paige would grow up to like women, then again what father ever does. Nick kicked himself for letting his fear dictate his actions in making Paige and Emily feel like he wouldn't want them to be happy.

"It's rude to stare." Emily opened her eyes slightly and Nick felt he got caught interrupting their couple's moment.

"I was hoping to talk to Paige and to you as well."

"Well if you want to talk to her, the first words out of your mouth better be I'm sorry, followed closely by I love you."

"I do love her."

"Funny way of showing it. No offense Mr. McCullers, but you have a long way to go before I trust what you say."

Nick nodded, "I know I do, but I have to start somewhere right?" Emily nodded and gave Paige's hand a squeeze. "Paige, baby wake up." Paige moaned and grumbled, but eventually opened her eyes to see her father standing there.

"Aren't you afraid you'll catch my gayness by being in the room with two lesbians?"

"I suppose I deserve that."

"You think."

"Hey, I may have screwed up a lot, but damn it I am still your father." Ashley knocked on the window as if to warn Nick that he was on think ice.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. Look Paige, I don't expect to fix this right here today, but I want to start fixing our relationship. I pushed you away and I'll never be able to take that back, but I would like the chance to get to know you. All I have in my head is the little girl I would coach on sports teams and now you all grown up and I don't know anything about your life anymore."

"No, you know one thing about my life that makes you angry, not my fault you have a thing against gay people."

"Paige, cool it." This time it was Emily who jumped in. "I am the poster child for having parents take this news poorly, but look where my mom was and where she is now. Everyone deserves a second chance if they are willing to meet you half way. Besides, the worst thing that could happen is that you keep this relationship the way it is now, but you have the chance to turn it into something positive. Give him the chance to prove he means it."

Nick took a step toward his daughter. "Paige, I don't understand really any of this, but I'm going to try and figure it out, but I was hoping you'd be willing to help me with that. No parent is ready to hear that their child is gay, but I hurt you with how I handled it and I can't apologize enough for that. Your mother told me about a bunch of books and meetings I can look into and if Pam can find it in her heart to forgive me, maybe we can figure the rest of this stuff out together. I want to be a part of your life and that means supporting you in this part of your life."

Paige looked at Emily as if to see if she was supposed to believe her father's words. Emily offered Paige a smile and Paige played with her fingers for a moment before responding. "One chance dad. I'm not putting Emily and I through this again just for it to end poorly. But I'd like to have a relationship with my father and I am willing to meet you half way and help answer your questions." Nick smiled for the first time in days and Paige could see that it was a genuine smile and she had hope for her relationship with her dad.

"Your mom is fixing your room up for you to come home once Emily goes home. I thought maybe we could go grab food before we head back to the house?"

"I'd like that dad. I'll be right back, I'm just going to go grab my bag from the bathroom and change. You'll be ok for a minute?" She looked between her dad and Emily and Emily smiled. "We'll be fine." Paige stood up and kissed Emily briefly before walking into the bathroom.

"Emily I never said I was sorry for how I acted at school last year, I was completely out of line and I'm sorry for any pain it caused you."

"I appreciate and accept your apology." Emily sat up a little straighter and cleared her throat. "But let me be clear, you may be an adult and her dad, but I love her too, so I'm going to say this once and then we'll never mention it again. If I ever have to kiss away the pain that comes from something you do again I will make the rest of your life hell. I want her to be happy and she loves you, but I will not stand by and watch her get hurt by anyone, EVER again."

Nick was stunned, his daughter's teenaged girlfriend just threatened him and he stood there and took it. Deep down he knew he had to hear it and he was glad to see that Emily loved his daughter enough to be a little rude.

"I think we have an understanding." Nick started to walk to the door, but he paused. "Emily?"

"Yes Mr. McCullers?"

"I'm sorry for what happened to you and your friend Caleb last night, and I'm so sorry you had to resort to violence just to survive, but…thank you for saving her. We may have a strained relationship, but she's my daughter and I love her."

"I would have gladly given up my life, if it meant protecting Paige."

"Well, I'm glad that it didn't come to that. Tell Paige I'll be back in a few minutes will you?" Emily nodded and Nick quietly left the room. He closed the door behind him and was met with Ashley Marin still looking at him rather intensely.

"How'd it go?"

"About as well as I could have hoped. Emily is something else."

"She's a special young lady and she loves your daughter."

"I'm beginning to understand that."

"Good then you and I shouldn't have any further problems." Nick laughed, "they love each other, even I can see that."

"Something you saw must have changed your mind pretty fast for you to say that."

"Just then when Paige got up to leave the room and Emily watched her go, the looks they shared the kiss goodbye. It just reminded me of when I first met Paige's mother, we acted the same way, guess it just made me see things differently." Nick smiled at the memory before turning back to Ashley, "I'll be back in a few minutes to get Paige. Tell Pam I stopped by."

"Oh, don't worry I will." Ashley watched Nick walk back outside and she was pretty sure she had witnessed something truly amazing.

**YES, I know its cheesy, but I wanted to get this up before I become very busy so here it is. I figure I'll do a few more chapters and then finish it off. Let me know what you think for the last few chapters.**


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